Racism the worst form of bullying

In Lunenburg, the entire community is trying to find a way forward from what has been a cruel and senseless attack on a 13-year-old biracial student.

Someone or some people, likely members of the Lunenburg football team, spray painted racist graffiti on the foundation of the home of Isaac A. Phillips, whose father Anthony is African-American.

The people who did it probably thought they were being funny, or they were just looking to demean someone. They were likely not intelligent enough to understand the awful impact of what they did to the Phillips family.

Racist comments are a form of bullying, and in my mind, the worst form of bullying. They are designed to make the victim feel bad about him- or herself, to make them feel bad about their heritage. This is 2013, and racism should be a thing of the distant past. It is highly unlikely that Isaac feels ashamed of either of his parents, and certainly he has no reason to feel bad about his African-American ancestry. Still, the attack is jarring because it makes people question how many people in Lunenburg still believe attacking someone's race is amusing and acceptable.

It isn't. It's hideous and says more about the failure and weaknesses of the racists than the victim they are attempting to demean.

Football players in Lunenburg are upset that the biggest game of the season is canceled and whether people will think they are racists. Some say canceling the game is unfair, that the many are being punished for the acts of a single person or the acts of a few people. I would lean toward the acts of a few people. It is unlikely the spray-painting was done by one person, and it is likely others knew about it and are saying nothing.

There is also every indication that people, including possibly coaches, knew there was a problem on the team but never addressed it.

Racism and bullying should be stopped immediately with strong action. Students involved with racial bullying against Worcester football players should have been kicked off the team. That situation was bad enough, but the vandalism of the Phillips house was not between players. It was a serious attempt to broadcast racism to the public. It was an attempt to bring the community in on the racist joke. It was a sick act, and those who did it were not funny. They were hateful.

You can feel nothing but sad for Isaac and his family. They are the only ones involved in this who deserve sympathy. The team as a whole does not deserve sympathy. The coaches do not deserve sympathy. School officials do not deserve sympathy, and the community certainly does not deserve sympathy. They are not the victims. Isaac and his family are the victims. The rest need to understand that.

If the community is to recover from this, the people who committed these acts must come forward, admit they were wrong and apologize to the Phillips family without asking for, or expecting, forgiveness. They need to accept in their hearts they were wrong and face the consequences. The parents of those who wrote the hateful remarks also need to come forward, supporting their children, but being clear that they condemn their actions.

Anyone who was aware of the act and failed to come forward immediately should step forward now and apologize. They all owe the family an apology, whether the Phillips family accepts it or not. There is no reason the victims should have to accept the apologies, but they have the right to hear them.

Also, the school needs to sit down with the entire football team and make it clear that racism is unacceptable. They need to know.

The slur painted on the side of the Phillips house was "Knights don't need (racial slur)." The new motto of the Lunenburg community should be "Knights don't need racists. Lunenburg doesn't need haters."

Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG.